SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: Towing with collapsed suspension
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 878
Likes: 638
poop
Towing with collapsed suspension
Think about buying a basket case sl. It currently has a failed ABC, completely collapscollapsed.I need to figure out how to get it onto a trailer, coming from the e55 with the airmatic, I know Mercedes made a rubber spacer to jam in suspension for towing purposes, is there anything like that for the r230?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,481
Likes: 310
95 SL600
I would buy 4 car dollies and get a rollback. The other thing you need to be aware of is that there is no park lock override, so if the car has no battery or there are other problems getting it out of park will be a large issue.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 878
Likes: 638
poop
My understanding is it was running great, had pump issues. The guy replaced the pump, works great again. He took a vacation when it came back the car was on the ground, couldn't get the suspension to operate
He's at its wit's end, just wants it gone.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,481
Likes: 310
95 SL600
If it runs , yiu can probably take a jack with you and jack th back of the tow vehicle up in the air to get the trailer ramps at less of an angle. You can probably drive it up there, but be careful turning the wheels sharp, that’s when they catch the fenders sometimes.
Take some long 2x10 or 2x12 and wood blocking with you to make the ramps longer. Make sure to push the suspension button, it may pop back up , one of mine did that.
Take some long 2x10 or 2x12 and wood blocking with you to make the ramps longer. Make sure to push the suspension button, it may pop back up , one of mine did that.
Last edited by cdk4219; Mar 21, 2022 at 04:35 PM.
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 5
Likes: 2
2004 SL55 AMG
I purchased my SL55 the same way, it had collapsed ABC suspension and it was sitting on the floor.
What I found was that you can plug in a code reader and erase all of the ABC codes, then start the car and hit the ride height button, you wake up the ABC this way.
The other thing you can do is if you jack up the car a bit so that its not completely collapsed, you start the car and you can sort of wake up the ABC system that way. Just start the car after jacking it up a little, then hit the ride height button and it'll get the system going sometimes.
Before doing either of those things, just make sure there is fluid in the ABC reservoir.
If neither of those things work for you, and you need to get some ground clearance to move your car around, you can just jack up the car and wedge some small 2x4 wood blocks above the upper control arms and that will give you plenty of ground clearance to move your car around without scraping. I had to do this once and it worked well for me. This works if you aren't able to get ahold of those rubber spacers that you mentioned.
What I found was that you can plug in a code reader and erase all of the ABC codes, then start the car and hit the ride height button, you wake up the ABC this way.
The other thing you can do is if you jack up the car a bit so that its not completely collapsed, you start the car and you can sort of wake up the ABC system that way. Just start the car after jacking it up a little, then hit the ride height button and it'll get the system going sometimes.
Before doing either of those things, just make sure there is fluid in the ABC reservoir.
If neither of those things work for you, and you need to get some ground clearance to move your car around, you can just jack up the car and wedge some small 2x4 wood blocks above the upper control arms and that will give you plenty of ground clearance to move your car around without scraping. I had to do this once and it worked well for me. This works if you aren't able to get ahold of those rubber spacers that you mentioned.
